The China Mail - Alleged rape victim of Norway princess's son says she took sleeping pills

Marius Borg Hoiby, Crown Princess Mette-Marit's 29-year-old son, is on trial facing 38 charges, including raping four women while they were asleep or unconscious.

Whether the women were in a condition to refuse sex is central to the case.

Hoiby, who denies the rapes and other serious charges, faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted.

On Friday, the third alleged victim to testify fought back tears as she recalled the early hours of March 24, 2024, when she invited Hoiby to her place in Oslo after a party.

After having consensual sex, Hoiby is accused of touching the young woman's genitals while she was unable to object and filming her without her knowledge -- a separate charge.

"I wanted to sleep. I was very tired, incredibly exhausted, very drunk. It was hard to keep my eyes open," she told the court.

As she was prone to insomnia, she had taken sleeping pills that night, she said.

Hoiby, who was sketching in a notebook during Friday's proceedings, then gave his version of events.

"I didn't see that she had fallen asleep at any point," he said, adding that he had a "blackout" and very vague memories of that evening.

In the hours preceding their encounter, he drank alcohol and took ketamine and cocaine, he said.

- 'Would never have accepted' -

The court was shown five videos seized from Hoiby's residence. According to the prosecution, the first showed consensual sexual relations between the pair, and the four others the rape of which he is accused.

"If I had seen that he was filming me, I would have stopped him. I would never have accepted that," the alleged victim said.

"I don't remember filming the videos. But I've seen them, it is me," Hoiby said.

Asked by prosecutor Sturla Henriksbo if he had asked the young woman's permission to film her naked, Hoiby replied: "I don't remember, but I probably thought that she would have protested if it wasn't okay."

"I have no reason to believe that she wasn't aware of it," he said.

Hoiby was arrested on August 4, 2024 suspected of assaulting his girlfriend the night before, in what would trigger the most serious scandal in the history of the Norwegian monarchy.

The investigation into that incident uncovered a slew of other suspected offences, including video footage on his phone and laptop, leading police to charge him with four rapes of women who were not in a condition to object.

The three victims who have testified so far only realised that they had been raped, according to the prosecution, when police showed them the footage and informed them the actions could be considered criminal.

Hoiby has repeatedly said during the trial that he is "not in the habit of having sex with women who are sleeping".

V.Liu--ThChM